Since many senior academic administrators of colleges and universities first trained for academic careers in research and teaching, they have had minimal management training. Both academic and nonacademic officers with administrative experience find they must quickly develop the different knowledge and skills needed to manage an institution when…

A discussion of college governance by lay boards of trustees focuses on the sources and nature of trustees' authority and, by extension, of faculty and administrators' influence on boards. It chronicles briefly the history of the lay board and the reasons for its continued use in modern institutions. Criticisms and defenses of lay trusteeship are…

The current use of part-time faculty and issues regarding this practice are addressed. Ways that part-time faculty affect the quality of academic programs are discussed, including the frequent characterization of them as "second-class citizens." Policies and practices are shaped by the diverse characteristics of part-timers,…

Simply stated, enrollment management is the process of defining enrollment goals and establishing procedures to reach these goals. The approach consists of a variety of interdependent activities, which can include the clarification of institutional mission, long-range planning, academic program planning, marketing and recruitment, retention, and…

This digest is based on a full-length report (with the same title) on advisory committees to universities and colleges. Under decreased resources and increased pressures for more accountability, advisory committees are an effective way for colleges and universities to connect with their environments. An advisory committee is a group of volunteers…

Faculty participation in college or university decision making is accepted as intrinsically good and as having positive effects on institutional functioning, but it is reflected in varying degrees in actual practice. The rationale for faculty participation is related to increased employee satisfaction and performance; faculty also tend to afford…

Faced with scarce resources and environmental uncertainty in the past decade, colleges and universities have experimented with different modes of academic staffing, most of which are attempts to preserve or create more flexible policies and practices. In spite of tenure systems in operation at 94% of all four year colleges, institutions have at…

Institutional self-study is an appropriate method for determining quality and demonstrating accountability which can lead to academic and administrative excellence. With a trend toward state and federal government involvement in higher education, colleges will do well to conduct internal program assessments in order to maintain control. A…

The efforts of student affairs aimed at improving quality of life, integrating new student groups, and attracting and retaining students are becoming critical to colleges and universities. Student affairs organizations can respond to the changing conditions and take a leadership role in new institutional strategies; they can become…

This digest presents principles of enrollment management for institutions of higher education. It reviews the three decades since the introduction of the term "enrollment management," noting the goals of: (1) defining the institution's nature and characteristics for appropriate marketing; (2) incorporating all relevant campus…

This digest summarizes the role of the dean or department chair in dealing with legal issues in higher education. It considers the types of legal issues which might arise for these administrators (such as contract and tort matters for staff and students), the erosion of the legislative and judicial deference given to academic decision making, and…

This brief report summarizes a longer document with the same title. It reviews how college faculty are increasingly collaborating to do much of their work. It notes that the two principal forms of collaboration, teaching and research, are often distinctive arrangements depending on the field of study, institutional environment, and task…

This brief report summarizes a longer document with the same title. Many colleges and universities, in responding to public demand for higher education and the external challenges it creates, are employing Total Quality Management (TQM) techniques to improve quality, increase productivity, and decrease cost. The quality improvement process itself…

A discussion of the faculty and administrator selection process looks at the function of search committees, the issue of confidentiality in records, and societal issues that need to be addressed. A number of factors in the effective use of search committees are outlined, including breadth of committee membership, quality of communication within…

This brief report summarizes a longer document with the same title. It reviews the need to better manage higher education expenses in light of budget cuts and reductions in appropriations and other public services. It is noted that tuition, although increasing, has been increasing at a slower rate since 1981. Also, faculty salaries have not…